Want a new way to speed up your fat burn? Press the fast forward button for 10 to 40 seconds and your workout can become a much more effective metabolism booster. I personally would be content to do just about anything as long as I could take my time about it. However, I’ve been reading some interesting things about interval training and the fast-forward effect it has on metabolism and weight loss.

In interval training you alternate an intense, all-you’ve-got session of 10 -40 seconds with 60 to 90 seconds or so of easy/moderate sessions. That means if you are doing a walking/running workout, you would run like a bear is after you for 10 to 40 seconds. Imagine those claws ready to swipe across your backside and those teeth about to get you on the back of the neck, and you get the idea of how fast you need to run! Then you would drop back down to a walk for a minute to a minute and a half before going back to a burst of top speed. If you are riding a bike, or using an elliptical, you would alternate going as fast as you could for your intense workout, then drop back to a moderate speed.

This doesn’t need to be a long workout. In fact, one site I visited said that it should be shorter than 40 minutes at the max. He recommended ten minutes twice a day. three to four times a week. That makes sense in light of a recent research study at the University of Pittsburgh. They found that women test subjects who split up their 40 minute cardio workouts into four separate 10 minute sessions during the day lost 20 pounds during the study while the group who did 40 minutes of cardio all at once lost 14 lbs. Researchers theorize that shorter, more frequent workouts keep your metabolism from slowing back down and keeps the fat-burning “after-burn” effect going.

Does that sound too tough? One writer/fitness trainer suggested that beginners start off easier with less intense “hard” sessions and longer “easy” sessions until you work up to a more intense workout. Maybe it’s only a little dog chasing you instead of a bear! Keep moving so your ankles won’t be nipped.

Some of my readers are already lost, though. “It’s hard for me to get out of my chair and walk across the room, let alone run,” they are saying. Don’t despair. Keep wearing your pedometer and working toward 10,000 steps a day. As long as you keep stepping you are moving toward a higher level of health.

But those who want something a bit more challenging might give interval training a try. I’m going to — and I’ll let you know how it works.